Wednesday, October 30, 2013

My papier-mâché Army of Darkness chainsaw is taking a lot longer
to make than I anticipated. This is probably because I am bogged down with
homework most of the time and don’t have the free time to work on Halloween
stuff as much as I like. I know I’m going to be cutting it pretty close this
year!

I added the handle to the top, and I also added the little
bendy bar on the side. For the part on the side, I took a sturdy piece of
plastic tube and cut it into smaller pieces with a pipe cutter. I ran a thin
piece of wire in the middle and duct taped all the parts in place. I also added
the cuff on the back, which was originally the cardboard center of a role of
packing tape. My husband is a little upset that he can’t fit his hand inside of
the opening, and he doesn’t appreciate me teasing him about his truckasaurus
hands!

Monday, October 28, 2013

Ash and I went to the temporary Halloween store at the mall
recently just to see what decorations we’ll want, decide are too expensive, and
then not buy. There was a lot of creepy clown stuff this year, and zombie
babies are still available. However, the best thing I saw was a big, hairy
spider by the entrance with a mat labeled, “Step here!”

If I let this spider bite me, will I get super powers or will I just be super itchy?

Ash loathes spiders, especially the ones that try to sneak
into our house. So, of course, I told him to step on it. He said, “You step on
it” and started to make his way to the Doctor Who section. I had to
step on it. At first it just vibrated a little, and I thought that was
pathetic, so I turned to follow Ash. Just as I turned, this beast lunged at me
incredibly fast and startled me! Ash got a good laugh at my expense, but he
said we couldn’t buy it. First of all, it was $50, and I don’t have a job since
I’m in grad school now. Secondly, I bet he thinks I would just hide it in
various places around our home to frighten him.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Why, oh why, is it that costume makers think that when women
dress up as male characters, they want costumes that are extremely nude and
stripper-esque? Ash and I went to a Halloween store and I was left with many
questions. Why can’t women just wear the regular Ghostbusters flight suit and
be a regular Ghostbuster? Instead, the female costume is a little dress
designed to show as much leg and boob as possible. I really don’t think that
tiny dress would be appropriate for fighting Gozer and climbing many flights of
stairs. A woman can’t just wear a regular Beetlejuice costume either! Oh no!
She has to wear a microscopic dress that only hints at Beetlejuice because it
has black and white stripes.

No, Sir, I don't like it.

Is this because the person wearing the costume wants to make
sure that everyone knows she is in fact female, and the only way to do this is
to make sure her breasts are on display for all to see? If this is that big of
a problem, I would think an easier solution to this conundrum would to be to just
dress as a female character or carry around a birth certificate with the gender
highlighted for all to see.

I haven’t noticed this phenomenon happening with men’s
costuming. When a man wants to be a female character, he doesn’t wear a
slapped-together tragedy of a costume with strategic cutouts that showcase his
testicles. Wouldn’t that be a great sight? Imagine a man in a Power Girl
costume with extra cutouts, or a man could wear a Super Girl costume with a
skirt short enough to give everyone a peek at his anatomy to assure everyone
that he is a man.